Tag: exhibition design

Drinking About Museums @ the Museum of Science

Drinking About Museums @ the Museum of Science

Do you like learning about museums? Do you like talking about tech prototypes and new ways to interpret exhibits? Do you like the Boston Museum of Science? Do you like hanging out with clever museum people? Then come to the monthly Drinking About Museums event 

Opening Reception of Elements of Expression: The Art and Design of Elwyn George Gowen

Opening Reception of Elements of Expression: The Art and Design of Elwyn George Gowen

Save the date! This years Exhibition Design class has been hard at work on a brand new exhibit at the Tufts Art Gallery, and they’re holding the reception on Thursday, May 3 from 5:30 – 8:00 p.m. Here’s their announcement: Save the Date: Opening Reception 

Designing an Exhibit: The First Ladies

Designing an Exhibit: The First Ladies

The Smithsonian has more resources than most of us can dream of, but what really impresses me is the way in which they put their resources to work. Their blogs are fantastic. They mix in stories from interns, volunteers, donors, curators, registrars, and many other staff members to present the whole story of an institution devoted to making the world a better, more-educated place.

Case in point: this post about the evolution of design in the First Ladies exhibit, one of the most popular at the National Museum of American History. Look at those old-style cases!

Exhibit Opening: Capturing Community

Exhibit Opening: Capturing Community

The exhibit opening for Capturing Community: Farming, Fishing, and Canning in New England is just two weeks from today! So the answer to the question, hm, I wonder what I’m doing on Tuesday, May 10, from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. is “I’ll be at the 

Upcoming NEMA Workshops

Upcoming NEMA Workshops

There are some really great workshops coming up this spring, and if you’re a NEMA member, they’re only $40 each. Scroll down to check out a series of workshops sponsored by the NEMA Young Emerging Professionals – $15 each, 6-8pm, and focused on interviewing and 

Stories Behind the Paintings at the Sukiennice Museum

Stories Behind the Paintings at the Sukiennice Museum

Krakow’s newly renovated Sukiennice Museum of 19th-century Polish art has a splashy video showing off the interactive campaign they did to publicize their 2010 reopening. In an attempt to make the art “come to life,” they recorded audio and video recreations of stories behind the artists, subjects, or patrons or a few of their most important paintings. One part of the project involved augmented reality, where visitors could view the video and painting at the same time through a smartphone app.

From this clip, it looks like the project was more about attention-getting marketing than an interpretation strategy. It’s no substitute for close observation of the paintings themselves, but it would be interesting to hear audience feedback about whether discovering the stories behind these few paintings piqued their curiosity in looking more closely at other work in the museum. Better to be drawn in by bells and whistles than not go to a museum at all?